Roundabouts, also known as roundabouts, can be a significant challenge for people affected by blindness. In many cases, they will learn an alternative route to avoid a roundabout.
The biggest obstacle created by these types of structures is due to the way the sounds of vehicles are distorted. As noted elsewhere in this guide, people with vision loss rely heavily on environmental sounds to orient themselves and know when it is safe to enter a crosswalk. Since the constant movement of vehicles in a roundabout does not allow for adequate queues, it becomes very difficult to anticipate if vehicles have stopped.
Where roundabouts are planned, a broad awareness campaign, targeting both pedestrians and motorists, must be an integral part of any new facility.
Here are the design guidelines to consider:
- Do not place fountains or other elements that generate background noise near the roundabout, as they may obscure the ambient noise of vehicular traffic.
- Avoid visual barriers greater than 300 mm in height in the centre island of the roundabout. These barriers prevent pedestrians and motorists from seeing each other clearly, in addition to forming a sound barrier for pedestrians.
- Use clear and consistent access path marking strategies to provide pedestrians with visual and tactile indicators to the safe entry and crossing points of the roundabout. A combination of textured coatings and painted markings should be considered to increase the visibility and detectability of the corridor.
- For roundabouts with one or two approach and exit lanes, install a marked pedestrian crossing with an APS at each approach lane where pedestrians may cross. Ordinary red-yellow-green traffic lights are to be used, continuously adjusted to the flashing green light for vehicular traffic. In response to the activation of pedestrian signals, traffic signals would change from yellow to red and remain red during the crossing time allotted to pedestrians.
- Pedestrian crossings without signage should only be considered in roundabouts with a single approach and exit lane. At such crossings, a stop line for vehicles must be marked on the roadway and accompanied by a « Priority to Pedestrians » sign in accordance with the Uniform Traffic Control Elements Manual. Pedestrian crossings with SPA devices are always preferable.
- Provide overpasses (footbridges) and underpasses for pedestrians at roundabouts with three or more approach and exit lanes.
- Streetscape features associated with service vehicles (e.g., bus stops, mailboxes, and garbage cans) must be at least 50 m from a roundabout, as these vehicles would provide visual and audible screens for the pedestrian crossing.
- Pedestrian crossings at roundabouts must be designed in the same way as current-section crossings. For more information on the use in the current section, see Curb Cuts.
- Sidewalks surrounding roundabouts must be separated from the vehicular traffic lane by concrete walls, fencing and landscaping to discourage pedestrians from crossing through the centre island.
Another type of tactile ground guidance indicator is recommended at roundabouts to help people with blindness cross the tracks. Additional information is provided in the Tactile Walking Surface Indicators subsection of the Exterior and Interior – Common Design Elements section.
An in-depth study of the barriers created by roundabouts and possible solutions can be found in the NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM (NCHRP) REPORT 674 Crossing Solutions at Roundabouts and Channelized Turn Lanes for Pedestrians with Vision Disabilities (PDF)
New technologies are using sensors inserted under the roadway or integrated with video cameras to detect approaching vehicles and determine if they need to yield or if pedestrians have time to make a safe crossing. Some systems combine both methods. They then trigger visual and audible signals to pedestrians that they can cross safely. The effectiveness of these technologies is still being studied.
In 2023, a graduate student at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ontario, published a master’s thesis examining the lived experience of pedestrians living with vision loss as they attempted to navigate various types of roundabouts. The results are inconclusive largely due to the small number of participants, but they provide a systematic approach that could be exploited if similar studies were to take place.
The full report, available in English only, can be accessed by visiting this link.
One approach Mr. Adeniran explored was to apply small strips glued to the road surface to check the proximity of crosswalks. Again, the number of participants who took part in this study would not necessarily lead to conclusive conclusions, mainly because there were simply not enough of them. However, with further research and experimentation, the CNIB is of the opinion that the application of rumble strips as described by Dr. Adeniran in sections 2.6 and 2.8 of the report cited above could have practical applications. A possible parallel application could be to install audio tapes adapted to level crossings where bicycle traffic and the pedestrian path conflict.
